The President's Council on Jobs
and Competiveness recently reported that the IPO market for small companies is
in need of revitalization and recommended structural changes such as exemption
from Sarbanes-Oxley compliance for companies for five years post-IPO and "right-sizing"
the Spitzer Decree and Reg. FD.
These ideas won't fix the
problems with biotech IPOs. The industry's long development timelines fit
neither the 7-10 year venture capital cycle nor the short time horizons of the
public equity markets.